- sore (adj.)
- Old English sar "painful, grievous, aching," influenced in meaning by Old Norse sarr "sore, wounded," from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (cf. Old Frisian sar "painful," Middle Dutch seer, Dutch zeer "sore, ache," Old High German ser "painful"), from PIE root *sai- "suffering" (cf. Old Irish saeth "pain, sickness"). Adverbial use (e.g. sore afraid) has mostly died out (replaced by sorely), but remains the main meaning of German cognate sehr "very." Slang meaning "angry, irritated" is first recorded 1738; sorehead "mean, discontented person" is first recorded 1848, American English.
- sore (n.)
- Old English sar "bodily injury, sickness, disease, pain, suffering," from root of sore (adj.). Now restricted to ulcers, boils, blisters.